A N N O U N C I N G
T H E __R E L E A S E__OF


T H E __L A T E S T__ CD__ B Y__ M A G P I E

Massachusetts native George F. Root's very popular song "Battle Cry of Freedom (Rally ‘Round the Flag)"was introduced in Chicago on July 24, 1862 by the Lumbard Brothers, a well-known singing team. It was widely sung in the east by the famous Hutchinson Family Singers. The song sold more than 350,000 copies of sheet music, a "hit" even by modern standards.

Numerous legends and stories sprang up regarding the song's effect on morale among union troops. On the Confederate side, one former major, reminiscing in later years said he remembered during the famous "Seven Days Battles" at the end of McClellan’s Peninsular Campaign, after six days of losing repeatedly to rebel troops, union soldiers were heard singing the song in camp on a rainy night. One confederate soldier was heard to say, "Good heavens cap, what are these fellows made of anyway? Here we've licked 'em 6 days running and now on the eve of the 7th they're singin' Rally 'Round the Flag!" The former major said, "I am not naturally superstitious, but I tell you that song sounded to me like the knell of doom and my heart went down into my boots and though I've tried to do my duty, it has been an uphill fight with me ever since that night."

Read more about the songs and stories of the Civil War.

Read the liner notes and lyrics for the Civil War.

And here is an order form for the cd.

May 30 "Battle Cry of Freedom" Civil War program Springville, NY Historical Society
May 31 "Battle Cry of Freedom" Civil War program Springville, NY Middle School
June 1 "Four Seasons, Four Years" Civil War program Springville, NY Historical Society

Dear Friends,

First of all, a huge thanks to those of you who have already pledged and have helped us to get this far. There have been some amazing, surprising and gracious gifts from friends and we truly appreciate it. The exciting news is that we are well-beyond the half-way point as we face the last three weeks weeks on Kickstarter. But things have begun to slow down a little, so we're sending out this request even to those of you who have already pledged to ask you to pass this along to your friends, even if you know they know about us. (You wouldn't believe the number of undeliverable emails came back to us, including addresses of friends we have had to delete from our email address book!) So we would be very grateful if you all could help us spread the word. That is really how these things succeed, through friends telling friends. Here is our plea:

2013 is MAGPIE's 40th anniversary singing together. Naturally we want to record this year and have already begun work in the studio. In order to complete the recording process, we are trying to raise funds through Kickstarter.com. Our Kickstarter page went up on April 4thand the campaign is going through the beginning of June. It's a pledge-type fundraising drive somewhat like pledging for public radio and TV. Go to the website and enter your pledge. You don?t pay until we have reached our goal. If we don't reach the goal, you pay nothing. Pledges can be as little as you like, but a pledge of $15 gets you a copy of the new CD when it's available, rather like a pre-sale. There are other "premium" rewards as well. PLEASE go to the web site and make your pledge. Let's do this recording project together!
Thanks!

Greg & Terry

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NOTES AND LYRICS
FOR MAGPIE’S CD “THE CIVIL WAR: SONGS AND STORIES UNTOLD”

Battle Cry of Freedom (Rally ‘Round the Flag)
By George F. Root

Massachusetts native George F. Root's very popular song was introduced in Chicago on July 24, 1862 by the Lumbard Brothers, a well-known singing team. It was widely sung in the east by the famous Hutchinson Family Singers. The song sold more than 350,000 copies of
sheet music, a "hit" even by modern standards.

Numerous legends and stories sprang up regarding the song's effect on morale among union troops. On the Confederate side, one former major, reminiscing in later years said he remembered during the famous "Seven Days Battles" at the end of McClellan’s Peninsular Campaign, after six days of losing repeatedly to rebel troops, union soldiers were heard singing the song in camp on a rainy night. One confederate soldier was heard to say, "Good heavens cap, what are these fellows made of anyway? Here we've licked 'em 6 days running and now on the eve of the 7th they're singin' Rally 'Round the Flag!" The former major said, "I am not naturally superstitious, but I tell you that song sounded to me like the knell of doom and my heart went down into my boots and though I've tried to do my duty, it has been an uphill fight with me ever since that night."

read more

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"Greg and Terry can show us all what a wonderful thing it can be for two voices to harmonize together. How lucky I am to have lived to see and hear more links in the chain." _
-- Pete Seeger

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